What do you think?
Rate this book
Before the Revolution
During the French colonial period (1900-1945), Vietnamese peasants wrote vigorously about the effects of French policies on their living conditions. The vast majority of their writings were censored or contradicted by the published works of French and Vietnamese officials, and none is currenty in print.
Ngo Vinh Long presents a realistic portrait of the Vietnamese determination and resiliency that brought down both the French and the American regimes. He describes the effects of French land policy on the peasants and the resulting problems in tenant farming and sharecropping, as well as peasant reaction to taxes, tax collections, usury, government agarian credit programs, commerce, and industry. He also translates previously unavailable texts that detail the emotions of the Vietnamese people with regard to the French occupation. For the Morningside Edition, Dr. Long has written a new preface in which he describes new scholarship and changes during the last fifteen years.
Ngo Vinh Long presents a realistic portrait of the Vietnamese determination and resiliency that brought down both the French and the American regimes. He describes the effects of French land policy on the peasants and the resulting problems in tenant farming and sharecropping, as well as peasant reaction to taxes, tax collections, usury, government agarian credit programs, commerce, and industry. He also translates previously unavailable texts that detail the emotions of the Vietnamese people with regard to the French occupation. For the Morningside Edition, Dr. Long has written a new preface in which he describes new scholarship and changes during the last fifteen years.
292 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1973
50 people want to read
About the author
Ngô Viñh Long
6 books2 followersNgô Viñh Long is Professor of History at the University of Maine, teaching on East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the relations of the countries in these regions with each other and with the United States. Long received a Ph. D. in East Asian History and Far Eastern Languages from Harvard University in 1978.
Long's research has focused on the problems of the peasantry and of rural development in East and Southeast Asia. In recently years he has paid increasing attention on the question of development and the roles of governments in general. During the 2000-2001 academic year he served as a Fulbright scholar in Vietnam, teaching courses on the history of economic development in East and Southeast Asia since the end of World War II and the history of foreign relations in East and Southeast Asia since the end of the Cold War.
Long's research has focused on the problems of the peasantry and of rural development in East and Southeast Asia. In recently years he has paid increasing attention on the question of development and the roles of governments in general. During the 2000-2001 academic year he served as a Fulbright scholar in Vietnam, teaching courses on the history of economic development in East and Southeast Asia since the end of World War II and the history of foreign relations in East and Southeast Asia since the end of the Cold War.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 17, 2025
Information from Vietnamese peasantry during French colonial is rare to find, especially written by Vietnamese in English. Very insightful and heart wrenching especially reading the excerpts of real life stories during the famine
Displaying 1 of 1 review